Pacific Islands adapting to climate change

By Jo Printz

Pacific Islands like Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji are taking positive steps to adapt to the impacts of climate change. But they are looking to their neighbouring nations and the rest of the world for assistance.

You may have heard the phrase 'climate change refugees' popping up in the last couple of years?

That's where the most dramatic effects of climate change - rising seas shrinking coastlines and more frequent, extreme weather events being experienced by small Pacific Island nations like Kiribati, Niue, Fiji, the Solomon and Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and Tuvalu could eventually lead to those populations being forced to seek refuge in other countries within the region.

The people of those nations aren't just sitting around waiting for that to happen, and someone who has been following their adaptation efforts is journalist and researcher Nic Maclellan.

He spoke about those efforts to ABC Gippsland's Jo Printz, ahead of a speaking engagement for Baw Baw Sustainability Group forum in Warragul.